Legal Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship at Siemens. I have been given more responsibility than I could have ever imagined. The role gave me a real insight into my future career, I have learnt valuable skills that will assist me in the future and have learnt a lot about myself, both positively and aspects in which I need to work on.

I have felt very valued by my colleagues, it was a small team that were friendly and welcoming from the start. I never felt like an intern, I have always been treated like a permanent member of the team. My manager was always on hand to assist me if I had any queries, and to offer valuable training and insight throughout my time here.

Originally my manager was based in London, so a senior member of our team took me under her wing. She ended up becoming my manager for the remainder of my internship and was always there if I needed her not just in relation to work matters but also on a personal level. We had regular 1 to 1's and she created Smart objectives for me. We then had meetings to discuss how I had achieved these and she worked closely with me to improve further within Siemens. She also ensured I would get the most out of my placement by organising for me to work with other legal departments and allowing me to go on the intern development programme.

I was surprised at how busy I was from day one. At the start contracts took me a lot longer as I was learning but I was still left up to my own devices to work on my own caseload with supervision from other team members. I never felt so snowed under that I couldn't cope and my team were always open to assist me if my workload did become too much.

I was given a lot of responsibility from the start. I was very much thrown in the deep end and I am now very thankful for that. At the start I was anxious as to whether I could do this role and now it comes naturally. There is still so much to learn and even now I am being given help and assistance on any new aspects that arise.

I would say the biggest skill I have developed is to be more confident in my ability and to trust my instincts. At the start I second guessed myself a lot, but my team really helped me feel at ease and I learnt to trust my ability to complete this role to a high standard. As well as the above I have learnt valuable interpersonal skills, negotiation skills, developed my analytical thinking and commercial awareness all of which will assist me in my future career and going back to my final year of studies.

I was based in the Poole offices which is a large site. The building were open planned which I liked and there was a nice atmosphere from the moment I walked in. Everyone was very friendly and easily approachable which helped greatly with my role. My team atmosphere was excellent, I felt very welcomed from the start. Everyone was up for a giggle and always asked how I was, and they truly meant it and were interested which was lovely. It was very light hearted which I appreciated as the work load was very complicated and time consuming at times so it broke it up nicely and meant I never felt too swamped.

I was very much left up to my own devices at the start, it was hard because my manager was in London. Once my current manager took over the organisation started to fall into place, she ensured I always had a varied work load, if anything interesting arose she always took the time to explain it to me which I always appreciated.

Siemens offered to put us all on the Intern Development Programme, which meant we were sent on courses throughout the year to assist in our development which I really learnt a lot from. We were also then thrown a Gala with Senior management at the end of the year to celebrate our successes, which was a lovely end to the internship.

As I'm studying Law we are required to obtain a Training Contract to qualify as a Solicitor. Siemens have only recently started to offer this, the previous intern is currently training in London. They are currently not accepting anyone further, however I hope in the future the circumstances surrounding this may change, as I would love the opportunity to continue my training within Siemens.

As the site I was situated on was so large there were a number of other interns and graduates to socialise with. There were a group of us who went for lunch together every day and who met regularly outside of work too. Having this social scene really helped with my internship, there was a lot of support from people in similar positions to you and all of who were willing to help or listen when needed.

I was from Bournemouth anyway so I have always been used to the costs here, it is expensive compared to other areas. However as there is a university here there are always student nights and deals which makes socializing more affordable.

Bournemouth has a really good nightlife, with numerous bars and nightclubs and there are other areas in close proximity which have a good social scene such as Ashley Cross, which I believe is where a lot of the graduates have chosen to live as it is a happy medium between Bournemouth and Poole.

Siemens offer all employees including interns 2 volunteering days a year, I got to go to a school and do a speed mentoring session which was really enjoyable and there are numerous other activities available on site. I think it could have been more varied but there were still a few things to choose from such as football and Yoga.